Tobi returned home to two year old child with cerebral palsy following a trip to Ohio

by
Alan ReedCadiz Record

Jul 02, 2008 | 0 | 23 | |

For many, a dog is more than just a pet, but a member of the family. For two-year-old Evalyn Wise, diagnosed with cerebral palsy, her Jack Russell-poodle mix Tobi is more than a companion, but a trained therapy dog.

Evalyn’s mother Katie Wise alleged that a man named Mike Haas took the dog without permission back to his home in Ohio while visiting during Memorial Day. After being driven to Ohio by fiancée Lucas Hale with Evalyn, Wise said that little Tobi is back home, providing love and therapeutic experiences for her daughter.

“Our neighbor has lung cancer, so we went down to visit and brought Tobi to cheer her up,” said Wise. “On Memorial Day, we cooked dinner with them, and Mike (Hass) made an offer to buy Tobi for $500. I told him that Evalyn was very attached to Tobi and he was not for sale at any price.”

Wise said that Hass increased his offer to $1,000, though as a therapy dog with a bond to Evalyn, she continued to reject them. At the end of the evening, Wise said that Tobi fell asleep with Hass’s mother-in-law. She offered to let him stay for her comfort, though planned to return if her daughter could not sleep without him.

The next morning, Wise said that Tobi and Haas’s car had vanished. She added that Haas’s wife said that Tobi left that morning, walking towards her home. She searched for the dog, fearing he had been hit by a car. Even Trigg County Humane Society President Ramona Hamilton had no information on the lost Tobi.

“On May 31, we had to fly to New Mexico to visit family. As a service dog, airlines allow Tobi to fly in the cabin with Evalyn,” Wise said. “He distracts her on the plane. We had to leave without him. He’s earned a place in the family. It hurt to think he had been stolen or killed.”

Upon returning on June 9, Wise learned from another neighbor that Tobi was last seen tied to Haas’s mother-in-law’s porch while he packed his car. When the car vanished, so did Tobi.